The Light at the End of the Tunnel
by ACE427
Summary: What if Malachi didn't let the core four leave his headquarters so easily in 2x06...? An angsty one-shot focused on protecting the ones you care about.


"So unless your highness wants to put out some of Daddy's territory on the table, I got no reason to agree to this race," Malachi said with a sinister smirk planted across his devilish face. His dad was right; these Ghoulies were a nasty crew. They were driving a hard bargain and Jughead started to feel as if he was trapped into a corner. Just then, the door swung open and a member of the gang came striding in. Two female bodies were being shoved in behind him and the door was suddenly slammed closed, trapping them all.

"They were following me, tried to get into the garage," the gang member said swiftly as he planted himself behind Malachi. With him out of the way, Archie and Jughead had a clear view of just who those unlucky females were. At the sight of a blonde ponytail, Jughead's heart started to beat out of his chest.

"Betty"

"Veronica"

"Jughead"

"Archie" They all echoed at the same time. Each one of them had a look of utter confusion planted across their face. A chorus of "what are you doing here" rang across the room. Jughead was in disbelief. She couldn't be here right now, this wasn't safe for her, and what did she think she was doing, wandering into Ghoulie headquarters. This wasn't another Nancy Drew investigation for her to solve, this was dangerous, uncharted territory that she was floating into.

"Wait so these are your bitches?" Malachi shoved himself, front and center into between the two parties. He was seriously close to Betty and Veronica, the close approximation had Jughead curling his fingers into fists, just one wrong move he thought, already gearing himself up for the likely possibility that this may turn ugly. Jughead knew that he was supposed to be the peace keeper between the Serpents and Ghoulies, he knew that this is what his dad's role was and the role he inherited ever since he put on that leather jacket. But Jughead refused to keep the peace if one hair on Betty's head, even Veronica's, was touched. To his right, Archie appeared to have the same train of thought. His shoulders tense, arms flexed, already perched on the balls of his feet, as if he was ready at any second to spring into action.

"I beg, your misogynistic pardon?" Veronica huffed out, while cocking her hip and taking a defensive stance. Clearly, no one referred to Veronica Lodge as anyone's bitch. Archie seemed to be slightly shaking his head at her, a warning, no doubt. Jughead's eyes were trained on Betty, silently pleading with her, to stay safe. Jughead tried to ignore the dark circles that were so apparent under her eyes, the ponytail that seemed to have lost its bounce, and the way her cheeks seemed to have sunken in. He tried to ignore the worry that blossomed in his stomach from the simple appearance of her right in front of him. She broke up with him, she didn't want him anymore, he tried to cement into his ever-repeating mind track.

"I think you better watch your mouth, missy" Malachi taunted while stepping even closer to the girls. Betty slid herself in between Veronica and Malachi, a defiant expression plastered across her pale face. She was the one who had asked for Veronica's help, she was the one who dragged her into this and she refused to let anything harm her in the process. At the sight of Betty lodged between Veronica and Malachi, Archie and Jughead seemed to take a step closer to the situation, feeling the atmosphere in the room bubble with tension. At this point, it could go either way.

"Are we going to finish discussing our deal?" Jughead asked, attempting to shift the conversation from the girls back over to their original reason for coming here in the first place. Malachi glanced back, and his eyes seemed to harden at the fact that Jughead and Archie appeared to be closing in on them. Malachi turned fully now towards the boys, stepped backwards towards the girls, and grabbed an arm on each of them.

"I think, perhaps these ladies need to learn a lesson on privacy, don't you?" Malachi taunted, releasing the girls from the hold he had on their arms, choosing to wrap an arm around each of their waists and pulling them in tightly. Veronica surprisingly remained limp at his side, not daring to test her limits with him again and reading the warning that was evident in Archie's eyes. Betty, on the other hand, refused to be a pawn, in another person's game, twisting the wrist that was wrapped around her waist in a vice grip and spinning out of his embrace.

"And I think, you may need a lesson on manners, right V?" Betty said, her back towards Jughead and Archie, staring at Malachi in front of her. Veronica quickly side stepped out of his embrace and grabbed Betty's hand, standing next to her.

"Here here, B" Veronica chimed in, bumping her hip against Betty's. Archie and Jughead couldn't believe this; did they think this was some sort of game? Didn't they sense the real danger lurking below the surface? The look on Malachi's face was one of livid anger, his nostrils were flaring and the tension seemed to radiate off of him in waves. His features could almost be described as taking on a devilish tone. Suddenly, he let out a manic-rage filled laugh, which eerily echoed through the room.

"I want some fucking respect!" Malachi shouted, while stepping nose to nose with Betty. A few other gang members were bringing up the rear, closing in behind Jughead and Archie. They were utterly trapped. How did this situation spiral out of control so fast? Jughead's palms were sweaty; his heart was in his stomach. He just knew what was about to happen next.

"First you two come in here proposing some ridiculous deal, that doesn't benefit me at all, then your bitches sneak into headquarters to spy on us with an air of blatant disrespect. I won't have it" Malachi seethed, his face red with anger. As Betty went to open her mouth, a sharp retort on her lips, no less, a slap reverberated through the room. It happened so fast, Betty barely saw his hand up before she felt a sharp sting across her face. The slap had so much force behind it that it sent her flying to the ground. She could feel blood trickling down her eyebrow from where his rings hit her, the side of her face utterly throbbing. Before she even had time to make sense of the situation, Jughead and Archie were throwing punch after punch. Jughead seemed to take it upon himself to deliver the punishment necessary to Malachi while Archie seemed to be taking on 3 guys at once. The situation was spiraling fast; Veronica was helping Betty to her feet, knowing that a quick get away was needed. She started to move them to the door when Betty stopped her.

"We can't leave them V," Betty whispered, the side of her face taking on an angry red color, her eyebrow swollen and bleeding, but her face remained strong. Veronica noticed Tall Boy off to the side, a smug smirk on his face, like the bastard was actually enjoying the scene in front of him.

"Stop this right now or Hiram Lodge will be knocking at your disgusting, low life, Serpent door" Veronica angrily said to Tall Boy whose face dropped the smug look at least. He seemed to be hesitating, deciphering if Veronica would truly do it. At his hesitance, Veronica showed him, her dialing Daddy in her phone.

All of a sudden, Tall Boy wolf whistled, and shouted out across the small room;

"Enough of this bullshit. Act like adults would you?" he shouted, while shoving himself in between Jughead and Malachi, and giving the other Ghoulie gang members a dirty look, the ones circling Archie.

"Everyone cool the fuck off here. Jones, grab your friends and get out. I'll deal with you later" Tall Boy demanded, his eyes hard. Any type of rebuttal died on Jughead's lips when he saw Betty in the distance, her eyes glistening with tears, her face already bruised and swollen. Archie was already storming past Jughead towards the door. Jughead gave Tall Boy a swift nod and made quick strides to follow. He grabbed Betty's hand along the way, and led the others out of the headquarters, down the street, and out of sight of any of the Ghoulies who would be lurking behind. Jughead could hear Archie and Veronica whispering behind him, but all he felt was the hand locked into his, giving his a tight squeeze.

"Let's head back to the trailer, re-group there ok? It isn't a far walk," Jughead murmured, mostly to Archie. He gave a backwards glance towards the two behind him, who gave a nod and quickened their pace. By the time they reached the trailer, the grip Betty had on Jughead's hand had loosened, and he whipped his head to the side to see Betty's face void of all color, except the hand print that could be visibly seen on her cheek and blood clotted around her eyebrow. She was almost having a hard time keeping her eyes open, yet alone straight. Her head was absolutely pounding to the point where she thought she might vomit. Jughead seemed to sense some sort of inner turmoil happening and slowed their walk to a halt. Archie and Veronica coming up behind them, Veronica grabbing Betty's other hand, slightly rubbing her thumb over it.

"Betts?" Jughead whispered in question to the dazed look on her face. Betty couldn't even focus on him; the ringing in her ears was increasing along with the pounding in her head. On the spot, Betty turned around and made it only a few steps before dropping to her knees and vomiting. All three of them behind her seemed taken back by her actions, with Jughead the only one pushing to her side to hold her hair back and give her hand a squeeze. After a few minutes of listening to Betty retch, they managed to get her inside, safely tucked away on the couch.

"I'm ok," she whispered, staring at Jughead who was crouched in front of her. Veronica had Betty's legs in her lap while Archie was in the kitchen getting ice for all the aching parties. Jughead got a good look at Betty in that moment, her left cheek was swollen and red, a hand print clearly evident. Her left eyebrow was cut open, the result of coming hand to face with one of Malachi's ostentatious rings he always wore. The wound had dried blood on it, along with dried blood that had ran down her face and into her blonde hair. All Jughead wanted to do was hold her in his arms, swallow up all the pain she was feeling, take it away, anyway that he possibly could. He lightly ran his hand down her hair; she closed her eyes at the gesture.

"Juggie" she murmured. Her angelic voice, saying his name, was music to his ears. He would give anything in this world, to forever be able to hear Betty Cooper whisper his name, the way she just did.

"B, sweetie, don't fall asleep. You hit your head pretty good on the ground ok? Let's sit up with me. Archie has some ice for your cheek and ibuprofen for your head" Veronica whispered to the blonde haired girl splayed across Jughead's couch. She shook her head and stayed where she was. Jughead moved in, slightly lifting Betty's body until she was upright on the couch, her head resting against his shoulder, her curled up so tightly into his side that you couldn't tell where Betty began and Jughead ended. Veronica held the towel filled with ice against her cheek, while Jughead made her swallow the pills and take some water. Archie was seated on the floor in front of the couch, all four of them touching in some way. Even though her head pounded, her cheek ached, and her stomach was so tight in knots, Betty Cooper couldn't help but feel a sense of peace. These were her people, her friends, and her family. No matter what they went through, they would always be there for each other.

"I'm sorry everyone. It was my responsibility to de-escalate that situation and it only ended in blood shed. I'm the Serpent here; I should know how to deal with a member of a rival gang. But all I did was stand back until it was too late. What were you guys even doing there in the first place?" Jughead wondered, not being able to help the sense of guilt he felt when he looked at Betty and Archie's bruised faces, at Veronica's tear streaked one.

"Sugarman" Betty whispered, her face now pressed into Jughead's shoulder, taking deep breathes in, smelling the scent that was unique to only Jughead. Archie turned his head back to look at the group on the couch while Jughead furrowed his brows at Betty's comment.

"We're trying to track down the Sugarman, apparently he's the dealer of all the Jingle Jangle. Reggie said that he was dealt his JJ from a dealer in the Southside, apparently a member of some gang. So I contacted him, under the idea I wanted to buy some. I mean I did buy some, but then we followed him. Wallow! There we found you guys, all in the midst of your illegal, gang banging deal" Veronica finished with a whoosh of her hands, so proud of herself for accurately telling the story.

"Ok…but why? Whose great idea was it anyways to wander to the Southside, to investigate a gang?" Jughead still felt somewhat confused at the story, was there something missing?

"Because of the Black Hood…" Veronica trailed off, looking unsure of herself. If Veronica knew the truth, then surely Jughead did too. Betty wouldn't keep this secret from him. Their break-up was a sham, only done in order to protect Jughead from the Black Hood. If Betty had spilled all the details to her best friend, surely she had done the same with her beanie-clad boyfriend.

"What does he have to do with any of this? Do you think he's the Sugarman? I'm not following how they're related…" Jughead kept looking between Archie to Veronica to finally the blonde nestled on his shoulder. She was barely awake, he could tell by her breathing though that she was following the conversation but gave no indication that she wanted to participate in.

"Betty, maybe you want to do the honors?" Archie asked from his spot on the floor, his hand was gently massaging Veronica's feet.

"He made me do it Jug" Betty whispered, her voice full of despair, sorrow, and guilt, her head moving from his shoulder to stare up at him. Her piercing green eyes were staring into his own. They were demanding attention; they were full of love, adoration, and sadness. Betty was trying to portray all the emotions she felt over the last few days into a single look.

"I'm so sorry" she kept whispering, repeatedly, while shoving her head back into his shoulder. She didn't want to face reality. What if Archie was right? What if they couldn't walk it back. What if she had ruined their relationship for good? Upon seeing the distress from his best friend, Archie decided to take the reins.

"The Black Hood has been calling Betty. He's been following her, we assume, watching what she does. He's been threatening her, her friends, her family. He wanted her to cleanse impure people from her life, so she he started with her mom, then Veronica, and then you Jug. While Betty obeyed and followed his rules, he hasn't hurt or killed anyone. So his latest request was to find the Sugarman and everyone in Riverdale would keep their life for another day…" Archie ventured off. The look on Jughead's face was almost comical, it was one of total disbelief, but mixed in with a wild happiness.

"So…you didn't really think I'm Southside trash? You haven't been agonizing over this for weeks? You did this all to protect me, Betts?" Jughead whispered into her hair. All he could feel was her nodding her head in agreement. Even though the wounds on his face had re-opened up, his ribs were in a constant state of aching, and his right hand was a bloodied massacre, Jughead Jones had never felt lighter. The all black, dark tunnel that he had found himself spiraling into lately suddenly had an undeniable light at the end. A light that was drawing him in closer and closer, a light that shone so bright with hope, so warm with love, that anyone could lose themselves in it. That light was, and always would be, Betty Cooper. As long as he had her by his side, Jughead Jones would fight the darkness within.

The friendship of Veronica Lodge and Archie Andrews always helped too…


End file.
